


A Question and A Message

by Agent66



Series: War of the Worlds [7]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld Gems - Freeform, Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe), Homeworld is Horrible, Rescue Missions, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-04 13:26:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12169779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent66/pseuds/Agent66
Summary: There was never a question onifthey would get Steven back, it was only a question ofwhen.





	1. A Question & A Message

**Author's Note:**

> OMG, you guys, here we go! Wilkommen to story lucky number 7 in the [War of the Worlds](http://archiveofourown.org/series/724287) serial, which is part of an the overall series of the same name. There are six stories preceding it, for this one you should be familiar with story number 5 - [Fusion Chemistry](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11917524) (for the last chapter) - and the previous story - [Gone, Steven, Gone](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12110841) \- as they do flow into each other. The other stories, while big on character development, could be skipped, but I would love you forever if you take the journey to go through all of them. :D
> 
> Some really big thanks to [Ajora](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ajora/pseuds/Ajora%20Fravashi) for being awesome and hosting the images you'll be seeing in this story and the rest of the stories in this serial. 
> 
> And of course, thank you wonderful readers who are traveling along on this journey! We apparently got a long hiatus for the show, so not only am I happy to hopefully provide some entertainment while we wait, but hopefully this will psyche us up to what's hopefully gonna be an equally craaaazy ride for the rest of Season 5. And speaking of Season 5, make sure you're all caught up for this story - seasons 1 through 4 are up for grabs here, with some references to the Wanted arc and the preview to Lars of the Stars (nothing too big though)
> 
> Sit back, buckle up, and let's hit the gas!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The entire beginning is in reference to the Doctor Who season 6 episode, "A Good Man Goes to War". Images are references to the character title cards from Lars of the Stars.
> 
> EDIT: changed the idea that it was Blue who bubbled the rose quartz gems to better align with story 9 - The Crystal Gems.

The planet of Homeworld was the focal point of the Gem Empire, the starting point from where most life within the Crystal System began. For millennia upon millennia, the gems who came from Homeworld went out across the galaxies, searching for planets to secure and conquer, regardless of the original inhabitants that may have been there.

As their empire grew, so did the advancement of their society. They had always been highly technical, far more advanced than some of the peoples they had conquered, and their technology had only grown as their empire did.

The planet which had once just been a clean, sterile environment, was now a thriving metropolis, full of color and life. The world combined the four major colors of blue, white, yellow, and pink – the schemes of the Great Diamond Authority, the leaders and matriarchs of Homeworld. Under their leadership, the gem empire had expanded itself within at least three galaxies and there didn’t seem to be any stopping point for their great leaders to continue their expansion.

Because gems did not adhere to the constraints of time, their society never had downtimes or resting periods – there were more than enough hours in a day for tasks to be completed or constructed. Each gem had a place in society – from the low-level sturdiness and complacency of rubies to the elite tiers of sapphires, actinolites, demantoids, and others – and most gems were kept in their places.

For the gems of Homeworld, their place in society had been mapped out the moment they emerged from their Kindergartens and they were set off to perform those duties.

It had been this way for millennia and it would continue to be for millennia.

As one of the matriarchs of Homeworld, Yellow Diamond had watched the gempire and her own colonies thrive under their leadership. The gems who served them were loyal, obedient followers who understood that to make a society whole you needed to pluck out the bad seeds in order to maintain order and stability.

Within her chambers on Homeworld, in what most called the Military District for the constant production of soldiers and research for the planet and surrounding colonies, Yellow sat within her chair, reading over various reports coming from her own colonies. The matriarch hated having to be so far away – she usually ruled from her favorite colony of Rigel 8, it being the center most capital and within range if she needed to correspond with her trusted agates or jaspers.

But unexpected…circumstances had kept her away for far longer than she wanted. While her presence on Homeworld was for a specific purpose, that purpose always harkened back to that horrible day when their youngest, Pink Diamond, had been shattered by one of her own rogue gems. Yellow never liked thinking on that day, on the part she played, and the consequences of the actions of one misguided rose quartz.

It was bad enough Pink couldn’t keep a hold on her own colony, much less her own court, but the situation had spiraled so far out of control that it had caused something unprecedented within their culture and society. It was a very clear case, a warning, of what happened when you let gems stray off the set path they were made for.

But finally… _finally_ , after nearly seven thousand years, it seemed they could close this horrible, ongoing chapter that never seemed to end.

Recently, the traitorous Rose Quartz had turned herself in to Aquamarine and while her appearance was different – she insisted on keeping her disgusting organic form instead of the beautiful gem one she was created with – the point of the matter was that Rose Quartz would finally be held accountable and executed for her deeds.

It was something Yellow had wanted to do when the war had still been raging on; she had wanted to punish these ‘rebels’ and she set about it by shattering and then stitching their shards back together, creating mindless drones that would turn on anything it caught wind of. It had been her hope to turn these creatures against their very allies, but the plan had taken much longer than she had anticipated and Yellow had very little patience for it.

However, she also hated to waste a perfectly good and vengeful scheme, so she told her scientists to instead create a much bigger monstrosity, a cluster if you will, that would hibernate within the crust of the Earth before forming and thus blowing the planet out of the skies. It would take care of the object that started the whole mess in the first place.

But of course, nothing could ever go the way Yellow wanted. On top of the cluster taking far longer to form than she had wanted, Blue Diamond had seemed to lose all sense of purpose after Pink’s demise. Oh, there had been a glorious period when Blue had been a force to reckon with – all it took was one look to set her off and she would shatter any and all gems she deemed to have angered her.

And then she just entered into this never-ending cycle of sadness and tears and _obsession_ with anything that Pink had ever been involved in. It started with those stupid rose quartz gems she insisted be bubbled, then it was maintaining the human zoo and making sure those whiny peasants were comfortable and happy, and _then_ it was the planet itself. Oh, Blue probably thought she was being oh-so-sneaky with her ‘secret’ trips to Earth, but Yellow knew.

Thank the stars _her_ pearl was a lot more loyal than White’s.

It was only the hope that saving some of these…organics…would snap Blue back into being a ruler to her colonies that Yellow agreed to send her Topaz along with Aquamarine to capture the humans on the list provided by the peridot she had sent to observe her cluster. Talk about another waste – the planet of Earth seemed to just take, take, and take.

It wasn’t enough that the planet had taken Pink from them, but it was the root of the very rebellion and war that had nearly dismantled their gempire. And in the last few years, it had seemingly swallowed up her peridot scientist, her prized jasper, and several rubies; just recently, _another_ squad of rubies suddenly disappeared after they had been sent to check on a structure Yellow had remembered should still be active.

Letting out a sigh, Yellow let the feeling of satisfaction flow over her. Though she hadn’t been happy about having even more humans in that stupid zoo, the highlight had been Aquamarine contacting them and bringing them the war criminal Rose Quartz.

“My Diamond?”

Yellow turned her head, glancing down at her ever-present pearl, and sent her a soft smile. “It’s nothing, Pearl,” she replied. “I’m just basking in our more recent victory.”

“Yes, my Diamond,” Yellow Pearl smiled, her head held high. She had been with her Diamond for quite some time now and she was well aware how…daunting the years had been, weighing on her mind. But now…now everything would be fine.

The two went about their previous activities, both of them monitoring the status of their colonies, though Yellow Pearl was mostly working on putting the finishing touches on her Diamond’s speech at the public execution, when the side door opened to reveal the gloomy vision that was otherwise known as Blue Diamond and her own mopey Pearl.

Seeing her fellow ruler, Yellow put aside her reports. “Well?” she asked. “Were you able to get anything out of her?”

Blue Diamond, one of the members of the Great Diamond Authority, sighed in frustration. Like Yellow, she had hoped the reappearance of Rose Quartz would settle and dissolve this never-ending pain she seemed to be thriving in. After Pink had…afterwards, Blue had sought various ways to exact revenge on those who had caused this hurt and on the gem types that had turned traitor by joining the rebels on Earth – she wanted those bubbled rose quartzes shattered, the very idea of having a public execution to bolster the morale as the war began and raged on; then she had thought about destroying the human zoo outpost or letting it just float away and letting those wretched humans inside die off.

Then she thought about destroying every, single gem that had been a part of Pink’s court – a message to anyone else who thought themselves so far about the Diamonds that they would…they could…

But something changed. Somewhere, the anger had faded and the sadness and loss and grief had overtaken her and the very thought of destroying what was the very last of Pink, the entire scope of her legacy was too much. Bad enough Yellow and White had decided to remove every and anything that showed there having been _four_ Diamonds and not three – without her knowledge or input, she might add – so it was up to _her_ to keep Pink’s memory alive.

So instead of destroying the quartzes and the human zoo, she instead brought them together, along with those Earth gems who had the misfortune of coming out of the planet’s kindergarten. When the grief got to be too much, Blue often found herself at the zoo, gazing up at the gems who were the reason she didn’t have her youngest confident and sometimes, she would visit the planet, at the very site where it had all happened.

“I don’t understand her,” she whispered. “It’s becoming more and more clear that our prisoner has no memory of what happened or even who Pink was.”

“She’s obviously faking it for your benefit,” Yellow replied, harshly.

Blue sent her a look. Their relationship hadn’t always been cordial, but ever since Pink’s…ever since _it_ had happened, the two seemed to be on two sides of a field of opposing thoughts and feelings.

“If she was who she _says_ she is,” Blue continued. “Then these questions wouldn’t be so hard to answer. I don’t understand why she continues to be disguised as a ‘Steven’ or why she continues to refer to herself in the third person.”

“Well, there you go,” Yellow stated. “Her organic disguise is obviously interfering with her thoughts and memories. You should’ve let me poof her when she was brought to us, then she would’ve reformed and we could’ve gotten through this sooner.”

“Yellow…”

“It doesn’t matter,” the military leader replied, waving off whatever statement Blue had to say. “Pearl is already writing up the order for the execution tomorrow, so we can finally put this behind us and get on with our lives and the lives of our gems and our colonies, in case you had forgotten you had any.”

“I don’t think I like your tone.”

“Yes, yes,” Yellow retorted, going back to her reports. “You never do. Was that it then?”

Before the other Diamond could answer there was a slight commotion outside the main doors before they opened to allow a large jasper to enter, followed by a small group of rubies. “I do not like intrusions, Jasper,” Yellow growled.

The jasper quickly gave the Diamond salute before answering. “I know, my Diamond, and my apologies, but I thought you’d want to know about the situation first hand.”

“What situation?”

“These rubies caught a rogue peridot trying to sneak into one of the ships in the docking bay,” the jasper explained. “Normally I wouldn’t bother you with something like this, however this peridot says she’s different.”

Stepping out of the way, the gem revealed what or rather, _who_ , stood between two of the rubies. It seemed like an ordinary peridot, however this peridot was without her limb enhancers which made her nearly the same height as the rubies escorting her.

Both Diamonds and their pearls reared back in horror. “Where are her limb enhancers?” Blue asked, concerned.

“She didn’t have them, my Diamond,” one of the rubies answered, nervously.

“Who are you?” Yellow Pearl asked, indignantly. Looking at the group of soldiers, she continued with “How dare you bring this…reject before our Diamond in such a condition.”

“Who am I?” asked the peridot. “I’m Peridot, essential member of the Crystal Gems!”

“Seriously?” Yellow asked, her tone bordering on bored. “The last I heard, there was a total of four of you, so I can only guess you’re the fifth uninspiring member. Aren’t you a little far from home?”

Peridot looked at her former Diamond in shock and perhaps, a slight bit of hurt that was hidden behind her eyes. It had been some time since Peridot had been on Homeworld and while once she would’ve been like the other gems in the room, now she knew and understood what freedom was; she knew what it was like to just sit and enjoy a good CPH marathon or to run after Pumpkin when she wanted to play.

She knew what it felt like to make her own decisions and do her own thing, with the option to follow or refuse a request – not an order – and live through it.

“And I can only guess your height is affecting your memory,” the green gem retorted, heedless of the looks being thrown her way. “Or perhaps it’s your age. Either way, let me remind you of exactly who I am. I called you a _clod_ , you clod. To your face. And now, I’ve done it _twice_.”

A pin could’ve dropped and rang out like the thunderstorms that could rage across Earth. Yellow’s anger showed itself immediately – she had forgotten about the incident, confident in the fact that the Diamond communicator the little whelp had used to contact her had destroyed and shattered the gem. And now, not only was that gem still alive, she had disrespected her in front of a room full of people.

“You,” she growled, her eyes narrowed in contempt.

“Remember that, do you?”

Peridot’s cheekiness knew no bounds apparently and there was the very real thought that she was going to be shattered moving fast from the back of her mind to the forefront.

“Why weren’t you destroyed!?”

The green gem smirked at the matriarch. “I’m a lot tougher than I look,” was her reply. Wrenching both of her arms from the hands of her ruby guards. “Let go of me,” she hissed. To the Diamonds, she said, “I’m here as an emissary for the Crystal Gems, with both a question and a message.”

“I think we’ve had quite enough of you traitorous _beasts_ speaking out of turn,” Yellow spat. “I should’ve silenced the whole lot of you when I had the chance.”

“What is your question?” asked Blue.

“Blue!”

Nodding, Peridot responded. “It’s very simple,” she said. “Where is Steven Universe?”

“Who?” Yellow asked. She didn’t even know what a Steven Universe was, more less where the location of them were.

“The organic?” Blue asked. “The one who says she’s Rose Quartz?”

“His _name_ ,” Peridot stressed. “Is Steven. Now, where is he?”

The room expected a lot of things to come from Yellow Diamond, but they didn’t expect her to laugh. “Is that why you’re here?” she chuckled. “To get your precious organic back? Well, you’re a little too late. We’re going to execute it tomorrow and you’re more than welcomed to join in. In fact, I _insist_ that you do.”

Blue smirked at the response. She and Yellow may differ on many subjects, but being disrespected was not one of them; that was how they were able to command so many gems under their service and care. Gems learned quickly the consequences and punishment of speaking out of turn or speaking in such a way as to border on disobedience.

“And your message?” she asked.

In almost a repeat of earlier, the main chamber doors opened, this time revealing three yellow amethysts who rushed in. “Our Diamond!” one of the cried, causing all three to hastily give a salute.

“Now what is it?” Yellow groaned.

“There’s a group of rogue gems attacking the citadel!” a second one cried.

“They came out of nowhere,” cited a third. “We’ve been trying to hold them off, but…”

Yellow Pearl immediately brought up a screen to the start of the military district, to the very citadel they were currently residing in. Sure enough, there were sounds of commotion and fighting, with the ground nearly covered in several different colored gems. In the heart of the battle were a small group of gems that the soldiers didn’t recognize, but Yellow and Blue knew who they were – or rather, they recognized _two_ of the gems battling.

Time may have changed their outfits, but one tends not to forget the Renegade Pearl or the Formidable Fusion.

Both of them turned from the calamity and destruction to look at the small Peridot, who was smirking knowingly at them.

 

 

“Should I repeat the question, then?” she asked.


	2. To Homeworld We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the past, Lapis Lazuli loses at terraforming, sees the renegade and fusion in action, and counts down the arrival to Homeworld.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Alexis_Universe for his chat question which turned out to be the foundation of Lapis' own thoughts!

_As a terraformer, a game about terraforming a planet should have been the easiest thing for her to win. Instead, Lapis Lazuli was watching her lead dwindle from second place to third and now fourth._

_The hand ship that had once been her prisoner was now her transport to save the boy who had tried to save her. After their ‘captain’ had told them their trip would take a while, Connie had brought out one of the board games she played with Steven, where players had to try and terraform the planet of Venus as much as they could by rising the oxygen, water, and temperature levels._

_Unsurprisingly, Connie had taken the lead, being familiar with the game more so than the other three gems; in the whole scheme of things, the game was rather silly for Lapis to be playing. Gems didn’t need oxygen or water and their forms automatically adjusted regardless of what the temperature was. But the point of the game wasn’t, well the game itself – which, thank the stars for that, because Garnet coming up from behind to win was starting to wear on the water gem’s nerves – but the purpose of taking their minds of what was to come._

_When Lapis had returned to Homeworld the first time, it had been a huge culture shock. Things had certainly changed in the years she had been away, so much that she didn’t even recognized the place anymore. There were so many more gems, so many more structures that Lapis had been used to or even comfortable with. It was her confusion and hesitance that had her being captured, again, by Homeworld soldiers and being interrogated._

_She was fairly sure she wasn’t the only person seriously rethinking this course of action. To be honest, she didn’t **want** to step foot back on the planet and certainly not in the manner they were doing it. They were only hours away from approaching the planet and none of the Crystal Gems were discussing tactics or plans…_

_They were just gonna walk in and…what? Politely ask for Steven to be returned to them?_

_Lapis was sure that wasn’t going to happen. Kidnapping him under the noses of the Diamonds? They had done that once and it was only a threat and a bunch of rowdy amethysts that were keeping that quiet. The only other option was full on assault, which would only get them shattered or worse._

_Because there was **always** a worse when it came to disobeying the Diamond Authority._

_With just over four hours before arrival, Garnet called the team to a meeting for what the actual plan would be. The leader, pragmatic as ever, admitted they really didn’t **have** a plan other than to go in, get Steven, get out. It was, as Pearl chuckled, a familiar technique they had used during the war and something that worked extremely well._

_Homeworld never saw them coming and by the time they figured it out, they were long gone, faded into the background, surveying their handiwork – usually the destruction of an unwanted gem structure – while the gems below tried to figure out what happened, why it happened, and so on. It was the element of surprise – of course Homeworld wouldn’t think any of the rebels on Earth to return, so having Steven offer himself up as Rose Quartz had stunned even the sadistic little bug that was Aquamarine._

_Lapis didn’t understand anything about war or **the** war, the event that had – in a sense – ruined her life, and it was clear that the only two who did understand it were the ones leading this crazy plan. The water gem had to admit though, Garnet and Pearl seemed to be in their element and it was clear why these two were the generals for Rose’s army._

_Despite having to nearly reengineer the entire ship, Peridot and Pearl managed to keep the ship’s data banks in shape, which allowed them to bring up a mostly current map of Homeworld and its surrounding areas._

_“Does Yellow Diamond still oversee the military district?” Pearl had asked, her eyes roving over the layout. It had been thousands of years since she had been on Homeworld and the map she saw was a stark contrast to what she tried pulling from her memory. Thankfully, while there were some new buildings and structures, some of the same familiar sites were still there._

_“With an iron fist,” Peridot joked, dryly. “No big surprise there. Research and development is located in the same area…”_

_Connie’s eyes immediately sought out Garnet, who tilted her head in thought. Their last mission together had stumbled on some R &D structure long thought abandoned, but perhaps not; running into a second ruby squad had not been the overall plan of that mission – bubbling a corrupted gem was – but they had ended up learning far more than expected, but getting few answers to their many questions._

_“During the rebellion, there used to be cell block,” Garnet mentioned, thoughtfully. “That’s where they used to hold gems that were waiting for…”_

_All but Connie and Amethyst filled in the blanks. If a gem was disobedient, they could easily be poofed or shattered on the spot, however there were times – times where a gem needed to be made an example of – that they would be put in the cells to await their sentence. In most cases, it was a shattering in front of their gem cuts or facets, other times…_

_It was where gems went before they were harvested._

_“Do you think that’s where Steven is?” Pearl asked, quietly._

_“Peridot.”_

_“There’s no other place I could think of,” the green gem responded. “I mean, if they thought he was just one of the humans from...that list, they might have taken him to that human zoo you mentioned. But if he stated he was Rose Quartz…to be honest, I can’t be sure. Era 2 gems aren’t really told about what happened during that time.”_

_“If they believe him to be Rose Quartz,” Lapis piped up. “Then you can bet he’s in the cells. If he’s **lucky** , that’s where he went after they took him.”_

_“And if he’s unlucky?” Connie asked, receiving no answer in return. “Lapis?”_

_“Connie,” Pearl replied, looking at the teen kindly. “Let’s not think of the negative outcomes, hmm? If we did, we wouldn’t be doing this, would we?”_

_The teen wanted to retort that keeping in mind the negatives might help them see something they would miss, but instead she nodded. She knew and understood what Pearl was trying to do and the reasons for it – the sentence didn’t really need to be explained. If Steven was unlucky, then they had been too late to save him, too late to stop whatever could possibly have happened, and that was a thought too much to bear._

_The planning session continued, with the group looking at all angles to approaching their situation before settling on the previous idea of Steven being within the military district of Homeworld. While on one hand, it was the most obvious choice for him to be, on the other it was also surrounded with the military personnel of the gempire and if word had gotten to either Yellow or Blue Diamond that Rose Quartz was in custody, they might have a repeat of the human zoo on their hands and no one wanted that._

_The best thing to do was to hit hard and fast and while the area was in disarray, they would find Steven and rescue him. But that meant they might need a distraction. Distractions were always helpful, as it meant all eyes were fixed on something else instead of where they needed to be._

_And there were only a few options they could take._

 

* * *

 

_Connie had never been on an alien ship before, at least not until she had nearly been abducted by the large yellow gem fusion, but as the second time being on an alien ship, it was still a sight to see. She had wanted to change into her gear, making sure she was prepared for the fight ahead and Pearl had told her to get some rest. The teen’s phone, which had been out of the service area for a while now, was registering a little after nine at night and while during the summer, Connie got to stay up by an hour, she recognized that this could be a grueling fight and she wanted to be ready for it._

_Though Pearl had thought it better to get rid of the cells that were lined in the body of the hand ship, Peridot nixed her idea, stating that getting rid of the cells meant they would basically be flying a finger to Homeworld – that had opened up Amethyst’s retort of how they were **all** thinking about giving the finger to Homeworld and then it had devolved from there to the point that Pearl had literally covered the girl’s ears – and in hindsight, the thinner gem was glad they kept them._

_Connie took the cell that was the closest to the bridge, with a promise that someone would come to get her once they were within Homeworld’s atmosphere. She remembered Steven telling her about the cells in the ship – how their cell doors had been made with some sort of energy that prevented gems from escaping, but was easily bypassed by Steven, who was immune to it. The two teens figured it was because of his half-human status and that it couldn’t disrupt organic skin and flesh._

_There were no ‘doors’ on any of the cells now, making them look like just empty rooms along a deserted hallway. The teen had packed a few items, mostly snacks and water bottles, along with a few pairs of underwear, two bras, and two changes of clothing; on top of that, however, was the gift her father had given her on the day she had returned home._

_He had followed her upstairs, while Mr. Universe had stayed downstairs to keep her mother company and Connie was sure her father was about to give her a pre-lecture before the huge one she’d be receiving from her mother. But Doug surprised her, instead giving her hug when they reached the door to her room._

_“I know it doesn’t seem like it,” he whispered, his breath moving across her hair as he rubbed his cheek against her head. “But your mother and I were extremely worried about you.”_

_“I’m sorry, baba,” she whispered, hugging him tightly. She hadn’t wanted to hurt her parents, never that; she had just been upset already and having her mother all but demand she come home had pushed her buttons something fierce._

_Delivering a kiss to the top of her head, Doug stood back and looked at her. As any father could attest, it wouldn’t matter how old their daughter got, they would always see them as the little girl who saw them as the only man in their world. Doug had been that for Connie, at least until a few years ago when she had come home, excitedly speaking on the boy she had first seen during a parade a year ago becoming her friend._

_Perhaps an overprotective father would lock their daughter up in a high tower until they turned thirty and Doug had threatened that, wrapping it in a story about a handsome boy who went to rescue a princess but thankfully her father put her in an even taller tower with a moat and a dragon to guard her. Doug could be strict, but that strictness often hid a fear that his daughter would turn down a familiar path that both he and Priya saw on a daily basis._

_After learning what his daughter was really doing when hanging around the Universe boy, Doug was worried, but also in awe of what his little girl could do. The security guard always knew his daughter was special and would grow up doing something incredible – with a name like ‘Kahaani’, it was to be expected – but he never could have imagined anything like this._

_He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Go see what’s on your bed,” he said. “Then you can go get cleaned up.”_

_Looking at her father in confusion, Connie turned and opened her door, immediately seeing the wrapped package sitting on her bed. Sparing another look over her shoulder before approaching the bed and picking up the package, feeling its weight and shaking it slightly. She shook her head when she heard Doug’s chuckle, before finally opening the package._

_Inside was a new training outfit, this one orange in color, and had a large symbol on the back -_ **ब्रम्हांड** _\- that Connie recognized almost immediately and caused a slight blush on her face. The very design reminded her of_ Griffin Spheres X _, the anime show she and her father used to watch when she was younger. She had been such a fan of the original_ Griffin Spheres _, so moving into_ Griffin Spheres X _was a no brainer and while they had seen the entire_ Griffin Spheres HS, _they were both of the opinion that it was just a cash grab to get younger viewers to watch and didn’t hold any of the magic from the first two shows._

_“Dad?”_

_“It was supposed to be for Diwali,” Doug began, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “But circumstances as they are, I thought you’d might like it earlier. Like it?”_

_Giving her father a tight, she said, “I love it, of course! I’ll take it with me and wear it.”_

_Pulling away slightly, Doug turned his daughter to look at him. “I got that so I can see you in it, Kahaani,” he whispered. “What I’m saying is…”_

_“I know, baba,” she interrupted. “I will come back. The Gems will look out for me and we’ll get Steven back. I have to believe that.”_

_“Then I believe it cause you do.”_

_Looking at the gi now made her think of her father and the last few days she had spent with her parents. She knew they thought this would be the last time they would see her, but Connie couldn’t and wouldn’t dwell on what the negatives could be. She knew they worried about her and she’d be lying if she thought this would be an easy mission, but she had told Steven that she had wanted to be a part of his universe and then followed that by telling Pearl she wanted to help protect Steven **and** the Earth._

_Pulling out her phone, Connie noted the time, seeing it was about to hit 9:30pm. Rummaging around, she pulled out a small sleeping and laid it out on the floor. Crawling in, she grabbed her phone and set it for two and a half hours, before laying down and closing her eyes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Venus Terraformer is a reference to the game Terraforming Mars. And the play situation is similar to the weekly games we hold here at my apartment. My roommate is known to 'come from behind' in just about any game, where it appears one of us is going to win, then with a last hail mary pass, he manages to go from like fourth place to first and thus wins the game.
> 
> And yes, there are many a joke and innuendo in regards to the statement, which comes from a trivia game group whose name was "Comes From Behind" and yes, in every game we played with them in it, they did 'come from behind'. 
> 
> Griffin Spheres X is a loving and blatant reference to Dragon Ball Z. It was first mentioned in Final Exam as a show Doug loved watching with Connie, who showed it to Amethyst (and apparently Garnet). Doug used their use of fusion to understand the concept when it was being explained by Sapphire. Connie's outfit (that Doug gives her) is a reference to Goku's training gi that he gets from the Supreme Kai (though it can also be seen as the one from Master Roshi, just with a different symbol on the back).
> 
> The symbol on Connie's gi is the Hindi word for 'universe'.


	3. Fight Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peaceful day in the military district is ruined by some unexpected arrivals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna lie - the inspiration for this was from both Avengers movies, especially the scenes when the group is fighting together.

The daily lives of gems were pretty much a revolving door of same ole, same ole.

Every gem type had their roles to play in society and within the military citadel that belonged to the glorious Yellow Diamond, Primrose Agate made sure that the gems that worked under her were aware of their duties and roles. Primrose headed up several of the areas within the citadel, most of which were just staging and training areas for newly formed soldiers.

This room was mostly a common area, the walls set in a light yellow to commemorate their wondrous leader and a few consoles for checking out their crew rotation. To give the area a more welcoming feel, there was a massive water fountain in the middle of the room, though most gems had no idea what the liquid flowing from it was.

Their gempire was in the midst of a second era, with a third currently underway. While Era 2 gems were…adequate, they had nothing on the might and glory that had been Era 1. There were very few Era 1 gems left in rotation, with many being service gems or elites who still remembered the days when their society had been thriving. Something…transpired that seemed to have turned the tide against them and in the wake, most of their military force were now made up of Era 2 gems.

There was some concern that those Era 1 gems who had fought in the war hadn’t been the same, but these worries were dismissed – _of course_ they weren’t the same, no one could be after the tragedy that had happened. It was just a shame that history had been lost and most Era 2 gems had no idea of their past.

Thankfully, Yellow Diamond ran a tight ship overall, so there was never any rowdiness or lollygagging in any sector that was under the military leader’s area on Homeworld. When Yellow was away from Homeworld, her trusted agates and ambers ruled the roost in her stead, running it the way Yellow would, with no incidences or complaints.

And it would have continued that way if not for the recent rumors.

There was a variety of gems that were around – rubies, quartzes, and a few peridots that were there from Research & Development and were retrieving some data for further research; there was a small group of bismuths who were working on some new addition to their office, minor work for their class, but something quick that could easily be done within a few hours.

Three rubies were lending a hand with the construction and as everyone knew, rubies were prone to talk. “Hey, did you hear?” asked 5F3G cut-2XI.

“Hear what?” questioned 5F4G cut-7WK

“About the war criminal,” replied 2XI.

“The what?” asked 5F4K cut-5KJ.

“I heard about it,” one of the bismuths replied, looking around to see where Primrose was. “I was working down around the cell block when she was brought in. They say it’s the traitor who started the war back in Era 1.”

“There was a war?” 5KJ asked.

“Don’t you pay attention to history,” 7WK hissed. “A bunch of gems went rogue and tried to take over one of the colonies. They even attacked one of the Diamonds!”

“No!”

7WK nodded. “Thankfully, _our_ Diamond was able to defeat them, but the ring leader escaped.” Turning to look at 2XI, her eyes widened. “Wait, you mean they caught the _ring leader_?”

“Yes!” 2XI whispered.

“I heard they might do a public execution,” one of the bismuths remarked. “They used to do those back in the day.”  

“Why do I see more chatting and less working?”

The group turned to look at the stern face of Primrose before turning and getting back to work. The agate wasn’t unaware of the gossip and rumors abound – she hadn’t heard from her Diamond specifically, but she was observant, as any agate would be, and she could tell there had been a change in the air for the last couple of days.

She of course wondered if it was true – as an Era 1 gem herself, she knew there had a devastating war and she was even aware of the players who had been involved. An obviously defective rose quartz, a disgusting display of fusion, and an unruly pearl – it had all started with those three and the poor demise of the beautiful and vibrant visage of Pink Diamond. Thankfully, their Diamonds had sought the revenge needed and had destroyed that horrible, backwater planet that should’ve been the start of the younger ruler’s own colony and rise to greatness.

Primrose had no idea where this traitor had been hiding and she didn’t care – if the rumors were true, she would finally be brought to justice for her crimes. It was just a shame they couldn’t have gotten her co-conspirators as well.

The moment was shattered as the door was obliterated by some outside force, startling and stopping everyone in the room.

“Lucy!” announced a strange, accented voice. “I’m home! You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!”

As the cloud of destruction drifted away, there five figures standing in the doorway. Their heights differed and they were an odd mix of purple, blue, brown, and white. And there was one major thing the group of Homeworld soldiers and gems in the room could clearly see in the eyes of the group, even if they had still been shrouded in the midst.

They did not look happy.

 

 

The gems in the room only had about a moment’s notice to react before all heck broke loose. The larger gem of the group wasted no time in summoning a large gauntlet on her left hand before slamming it into the ground and causing the floor to split down the middle, throwing gems right and left. She followed the action up by rushing to the nearest gem and giving them a right uppercut that took them off their feet and poofed them into their gem before the object even hit the ground.

Chaos quickly descended within, as the soldier classes tried to shake off the surprise attack and focus their attention on the interlopers. The three rubies who had been discussing the rumors immediately ran from their position towards the right side of the room, heading towards the strange looking gem dressed in orange. They halted only momentarily to fuse into a much larger ruby before continuing their momentum.

The small brown-skinned gem used it against them, whipping a huge pink sword through the air, cutting the fusion in half and poofing all three rubies.

The bismuths, who normally weren’t the fighting type, were still built to take on heavy equipment and construction, so being able to hold their own was no surprise or small feat; they immediately rushed to aid in the defense of their citadel, one of them coming up against an unusually small purple quartz soldier.

“I’m about to wreck your bismuth,” the soldier taunted.

“Oh hey,” the bismuth chuckled, getting the joke. “That’s pretty go…”

She didn’t finish however, as the cord of a whip wrapped around her leg and the force of the yank managed to take her off her feet and through the air, until her body met the concrete of the wall on the other side, poofing her instantly.

Primrose was quickly trying to get more reinforcements to come to their aid, though she was only able to get one message out before some sort laser beam went past the left side of her side, causing her to move; if she hadn’t, she would’ve found the spear currently lodged in the screen in her head. The scene before her was one of calamity – the best their society could offer, military wise, were essentially being manhandled by five unknown gems who had just walked in off the streets.

And then liquid began falling from the sky.

Looking up and around for the source, she could now see what was a lapis lazuli hovering in front of the decorative fountain, using its flowing water to create a hand that was batting gems left and right.

“Lapis!” called the brown skinned gem. “Make it rain!”

And she did – raising up the water from the base of the structure, the water gem turned it in to two separate waves that crashed down on either side of her, taking gems and equipment with it.

Looking around her, the agate knew she could either stay and fight or run and get help.

She decided to run, leaving the destruction and flooding for another group to sort out. Thankfully for her and any remaining state of that room, a fully trained group of jaspers and amethysts were entering just as she reached the door, pointing accusingly at the still standing group of gems.

The smaller quartz immediately shapeshifted into a larger form, disguised in some weird black outfit with suspenders and a matching black mask. “Aw yeah,” she crowed. “You know what time it is!”

Primrose didn’t bother to stay and watch the end; she immediately fled. Someone needed to tell the Diamonds.

 

* * *

 

Amethyst was really in her element.

The smallest gem in the second generation of Crystal Gems, Amethyst had no idea that she should’ve bigger than she was until Peridot had mentioned how other gems like her came out. It had been a major hit to her ego, especially with Jasper picking at the wound every chance she got, but thanks to some inspiring words, the purple gem knew she didn’t have to be the biggest or baddest – just the fastest and the smartest.

Watching Steven stand on the platform of that little ship had been like a punch in the gut; Amethyst never forgot his words the day they had challenged each other as ‘the worst Crystal Gem fighter’ –

_“I’m not Rose Quartz.”_

It had been a shock and a surprise to hear him say that – she had never realized all their talk about Rose had given him a complex, especially not one where he felt he needed to _be_ Rose in order to be happy or save everyone. She meant what she had said – she was going to kick his butt so hard, he wouldn’t sit for a week.

But that would happen only _after_ they got him back.

For now, however, Amethyst was taking out her anger and worry about the situation out on these Homeworld gems who had dared taken their Steven from them. A new bunch of soldiers had arrived a short time ago and the smaller gem had wasted no time on bringing the party to them. Using both whips, she had wrapped them around the ankles of two jasper soldiers before getting into a spin dash.

She buzzed into between the two, pulling the cords tight and sweeping them off their feet, dragging them behind her as she rushed towards a nearby wall. Zipping up it halfway, the two gems were slammed into the wall, breaking through and poofing when they did.

The fight didn’t last long, but it didn’t mean they weren’t going to be getting some new friends soon. Pearl was looking around for a working console, lamenting at the fact that Lapis’ vengeance had wrecked just about all of them. “Who in their right mind keeps a fountain in the middle of electronics!?” she exclaimed. “Honestly!”

“Find Steven,” Garnet ordered, throwing the thinner gem a look over her shoulder. “Connie, watch her back.”

“Right.”

“We’ve got incoming,” she continued, speaking to the purple gem that appeared next to her.

“Should we give them our patented ‘greetings from Earth’?”

“Just a quick hello.”

Pearl, for her part, immediately began to look through the records on the console that hadn’t been destroyed. While the sequencing had changed, thankfully she was quick enough to understand how to get what she was looking for. Luckily, the arrival of Steven had been such a deviation in the normal activities on Homeworld in general, his case records had immediately popped up as the most recent things filed.

Just as they thought, Steven had immediately been brought before the Diamonds before spending a few days within the cell block. From the comments, it looked like he would stay there until at such time the idea and talk of an execution would become officially. The renegade was of course thankful that their arrival hadn’t been too late, but seeing that an execution was on the books for their little boy did not settle her mind.

Whatever her current thoughts, they quickly turned to getting Steven out of his cell and off the planet and the way to do that was to go out the door to their left and going further into the military district and its underbelly. “I got him!” she yelled, over the commotion of another fight behind her.

“Gems!” Garnet called, backing up towards where Pearl and Connie were standing by the west end door. Lapis batted the incoming soldiers right back out the door with a quick water wave, while Amethyst was able to block the door with a large piece of concrete that had fallen during their fight.

“That’ll hold ‘em,” the purple gem chuckled, running to meet up with the rest of the group.

The west entrance of the citadel lead directly to the cell block, however there were a number of different areas the group needed to get through first. There were a few admin offices and, according to the map, this was also lead to Research & Development; it was in the back of her mind that Garnet thought perhaps they should split up and just check to see what could possibly be going on down there.

It hadn’t escaped her knowledge that she had recently been in an abandoned R&D building from Homeworld and one that was apparently on the verge of being reactivated or had already been so. That was extremely troubling, especially if it had been going on under her nose and that was the first time she’d cottoned on.

Maybe if they had a bigger group or this had been a stealth mission, she’d allow Pearl and Connie to check it out, but they hadn’t come up with this plan to sightsee. The purpose was to get Steven before he ran afoul of the Diamonds and that was the important thing. Her precognition had been spotty almost as soon as they entered the atmosphere of the galaxy and though she wasn’t showing it, it did nothing to calm her nerves.

She couldn’t see to get a good lock on where Steven was or what they would walk into. She usually didn’t have any issues, though a fleeting thought of where she was seemed to bring up another thought – the only time Sapphire ever felt a lack of her visions was when there was a heavy concentration of _other_ sapphires in the area.

In most cases, the Diamonds usually called upon the visions of _one_ sapphire, though it wasn’t unheard of for two or three sapphires to have visions on similar events, just at different points. While each Diamond had their small group of sapphires, very rarely were they ever all in one place due to the interference that could sometimes happen when in proximity to each other.

But it was such a rare occurrence that it wouldn’t have even come up if not for the fleeting thought. However, the realization wasn’t a good one – there was another sapphire or perhaps more on Homeworld and they were within the same area Garnet was in.

Shaking it off, Garnet continued following Pearl and Connie, who were leading them through the hallway towards the cell block. They hadn’t gotten very far before they heard the sounds of running coming towards them. “This is getting ridiculous,” Connie muttered, sword in her hand as their group stopped and watched as a team of rubies and single topazes came around the corner.

Pointing the sword at the group, Connie greeted them with, “Hey there. Trust me, you don’t want to go that way.”

 

 

The group of soldiers were trying to be inconspicuous, but it was clear that they were trying to see if any of their colleagues were coming up behind them. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” the girl continued. “I’m kinda running on fumes and adrenaline right now, so the quicker we do this, the better the outcome for all of us. And it’s easy. We just have a very simple question to ask. And I suggest you think over your answer before telling us because you will not like our reaction should you give us the wrong one.

“Now," she continued, making sure to enunciate each word as she said it. "Where is my boyfriend?”


	4. We'll Let Ourselves in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the past, Peridot gets her mission and asks a few questions, while the rest prepare for an unannounced homecoming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it, everyone! We end this fic and prepare for the next! Thank you to everyone that's commented, bookmarked, discussed, etc! You're all awesome!
> 
> What's next, G? Well, while the gems were rebuilding ships (including relationships), Steven Universe was on Homeworld. We'll see what Steven was up to in Prisoner A Go-Go. After that, we'll see how we got here with a look back on the rebellion, the war, and the players that played their parts in The Crystal Gems!
> 
> Hope to see you back for Prisoner A Go-Go!

_With one hour and counting until their little ship reached Homeworld’s orbit, Captain Peridot of the USS Bring Steven Home (a work in progress, but they could come up with a better name once they had a better ship) was going to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of friendship._

_She was going to be a decoy._

_A distraction, rather, a distinction Pearl was quick to make, but Peridot knew the true intent – she was going to be the decoy so the Diamonds wouldn’t know the other Crystal Gems were about to ambush their military citadel. If they were lucky, the plucky green gem would be in a position to not only get them a ship, but maybe find Steven too._

_Besides, Peridot didn’t mind being a decoy, if anything she owed Steven for putting him in the position she had. If it hadn’t been for her report, the Diamonds never would have sent Topaz and Aquamarine to Earth. The others may have let it slide – that it wasn’t her fault and they couldn’t have known Yellow would actually do anything with the report – but the fact of the matter was past Peridot had made things very difficult for present Peridot._

_Well, present Peridot was going to make things better for **future** Peridot and it that meant putting herself back in front of Yellow Diamond, who she hoped on every star in the sky was nowhere near Homeworld when they got there, then that’s what she would do._

_Past Peridot wouldn’t have done that – Homeworld wasn’t really big on helping your fellow gem unless in the heat of battle; in fact, they really pushed the idea of weeding out those who would be a burden, a blemish on society as a whole. Hadn’t Jasper summoned it up nicely?_

_Those who stood on the outside of the expectations had to be purged, destroyed, or else they would infect the populace with their imperfections._

_And the green gem had believed that, as soon as she had left her exit hole, she knew what her role was and what was expected of her. Her past self would’ve been shocked and appalled at the gem she was now, protecting a planet full of useless, organic life and standing by the side of the traitors who tried to destroy their empire. Peridot hadn’t understood at the time, when they were all standing inside the moon base, why Rose Quartz did what she had._

_Maybe it was some of her own bitterness talking - Era 1 gems had gotten **everything** Homeworld could afford – better incubation sites, shapeshifting powers, weapon abilities – while Era 2 gems, like her, had gotten the short end of the stick. Nearly every resource had been rerouted to the war effort that **Rose Quartz** and the **Crystal Gems** started and for what?_

_To save a species that had less than a century’s life span?_

_To protect life that was constantly fighting amongst each other every few years?_

_To save an already doomed planet!?_

_If Rose Quartz hadn’t rebelled or had been stopped, the Earth would’ve been one more colony in the vast gempire and Homeworld and the Diamonds would have continued going on and on. And past Peridot would’ve been fine with that, would’ve wanted that._

_But present and future Peridot did not._

_She had come to see the beauty of the planet. That was why she had been so desperate to tell Yellow Diamond that they could get resources from Earth without having to destroy it; but the green gem saw the true face of Yellow Diamond that day. She didn’t care for recouping what they could or even helping sustain the era gems she had under her; she just wanted vengeance. Vengeance for a conflict that was started and ended thousands of years ago._

_While Peridot knew who Rose Quartz was, she only had the information provided by the reports from Homeworld, which were obviously sided towards their side. Homeworld’s reports only cited that Rose Quartz had rebelled against their society, before shattering her own Diamond, while inciting rebellious thoughts and actions among the gems on the future colony._

_Like others, Peridot had been led to believe that the Diamonds had overcome the rebellion, wiping out the planet entirely. It was only when Peridot had been given the very secret mission of checking on the cluster that was poised to blow the planet apart she realized that Earth was still a rotating planet._

_Why these thoughts had been on her mind while they were preparing to leave, she didn’t know, but Peridot figured this might be the only time she could ask some of the questions she wanted. Steven had told her that Pearl always got upset when his mother was mentioned and he thought Amethyst, while slightly better, didn’t like to discuss Rose either._

_That left Garnet and thankfully, she was here and they were alone._

_Garnet hadn’t gone far, taking a spot on the familiar hay bale that was next to the wall of the barn. It was the same spot she had asked the taller gem about fusion or rather, why she was always fused; equating it to being the best combination of gems, such as Percy and Pierre being the much better match on Camp Pining Hearts. The comparison didn’t really hit home until they had that baseball game against the invading ruby squad._

_Peridot hadn’t participated, she had been hiding, but she could see the game from her vantage point of the barn and she could see that the components that made Garnet – Ruby and Sapphire – seemed to naturally gravitate towards each other. During a human sport that was supposed to decide her fate was probably not the best time to reunite romantically, but they did seem to be a nice couple._

_“Afternoon, Peridot.”_

_Unsurprisingly, the fusion was well aware that the green gem was not only in the area, but actively looking for her. “Garnet,” Peridot greeted, nodding to her and taking the spot next to her on the bale. “Was it your intention to spend this break time sitting in contemplation?”_

_“It’s always my intention to sit in contemplation,” Garnet replied, cheekily. The green gem gave the fusion a look, clearly showing she was trying to not be amused, but she did quirk her lips. The two sat in silence for a moment before Garnet replied, “You shouldn’t feel guilty, you know. None of us blame you for what’s happened.”_

_Peridot sighed. “It was still my report,” she whispered._

_“But it was Steven who gave you the basis for that report,” the fusion said. “In a perfect world, Steven would’ve listened when I told him to stay put, but it’s in Steven’s nature to not only be curious, but helpful.” Garnet smiled softly. “Sometimes he reminds me so much of his mother. She always did what she wanted, too.”_

_Peridot thought for a moment before looking at Garnet. “Could I ask you something?”_

_“Of course.”_

_“What was she like?” she asked. “Rose Quartz, I mean.”_

_Garnet was truly contemplative as she thought about the question._

_“I only ask because…” she stammered. “Well, everything I know about her was based in the reports on the war from the Diamonds or from what I’ve learned from my time here, but…”_

_“It’s not a lot to go on,” whispered Garnet. “For someone who didn’t know anything about the species on a planet she swore to protect, Rose was probably the most human out of all of us. She had flaws, some we’re only now just finding out, but all of her decisions were based on what she thought was right._

_“It’s something Steven inherited from her,” the fusion continued. “And there are times…times I wish he hadn’t.”_

_“But you’ve always spoken highly of her.”_

_“Because we **do** think highly about her,” Garnet said. “She was our leader and most importantly, our friend. But it doesn’t mean we have to accept some of the things she did and she **did** do a lot of things. I know she wasn’t proud of some; others I don’t think she even realized how she was hurting those around her.”_

_Garnet looked at the gem next to her. “But she had a good heart,” she said, with a smile. “And always saw the good in others, even when the rest of us didn’t want to.”_

_That seemed to be true about Steven, too Peridot thought. He had been the one concerned about her, even in the midst of battle. “Rose loved just about everything on this planet,” the fusion whispered. “She was the first to speak to any of the humans we came across, the first to pick up or pet whatever creature she passed._

_“Even with everything I know about her and everything new we learn, I have to believe what Rose did, her decisions, were always about trying to make things right.”_

_“Did she really shatter a Diamond?”_

_Garnet nodded. “But it wasn’t done to start a war or to even send a message,” she replied. “But in order for us to be here – for me to be here, for Pearl, Amethyst, Steven, the Earth, and even you and Lapis – Rose had to make a decision that I know she wished she hadn’t had to and regretted, but the alternatives would’ve been worse.”_

_Peridot knew there was more to it, but much like Steven, digging deeper might open wounds that she wasn’t ready to face yet. And the green gem didn’t want a biography on Rose, she’d already gotten that, she wanted to know what the perception was on the rebel leader, especially when it seemed that her previous actions were now guiding theirs._

_Obviously, Steven felt that it was his duty as the son of Rose Quartz to receive the punishment that had been intended for her. But surely he was aware that the punishment was shattering? Or harvesting? Or maybe worse, though Peridot couldn’t think of what could be worse than that, but knowing her former Diamond, she would think of something._

_That was why Peridot felt guilty – the report was one thing, but it was what the report would lead to that made her feel horrible; Steven may have been able to appeal to her for the protection and wonder of Earth, but he’d never sway any of the Diamonds to that. She didn’t dare say it, but she thought Steven was walking to his doom._

_But if they were lucky, they could save him from himself and anything the Diamonds could do to him and that’s why Peridot didn’t mind volunteering to be the distraction._

_The plan seemed simple – there were still two escape pods on the ship and with some guessing on coordinates, Peridot would be able to launch herself towards the shipping bay. The trick of course was to try and secure a ship before she was discovered and taken to a cell; plan B was to deliver a message to the Diamonds – that is, deliver a message to her jailer to deliver to the Diamonds._

_A little more than forty minutes to go, the remodeled hand ship entered the atmosphere of the Crystal System, the galaxy that housed the main hub for gem kind – Homeworld. The last time Peridot had been in this area was when she was headed in the opposite direction, going from Homeworld to Earth; with her had been Jasper, a requested escort to combat the strange gems that were continuing to break her things._

_And within a cell was Lapis Lazuli, a gem who had been on Earth during the war and had just recently returned. That would’ve been fine if she hadn’t been caught sending a message back to the planet and everyone put two and two together, deciding that she must have been a spy or at the very least, knew of these ‘Crystal Gems’ that were supposedly ‘protecting’ the planet._

_Who could have imagined that Peridot would herself on that same ship, heading back to Homeworld, with the Crystal Gems and Lapis Lazuli, and being the person who poofed Jasper?_

_“We’ve entered the Crystal System,” Pearl reported, looking over the helm. She had been piloting for the last two hours, letting Peridot prepare herself, despite the smaller gem’s protests. Amethyst had awoken Connie about thirty minutes ago and the girl was currently standing by her teacher, looking at the view of the galaxy and receiving some side training as she did._

_“How long before we reach Homeworld?” asked Connie._

_“At our current course, about twenty minutes, give or take.”_

_“Peridot.”_

_“I’m ready,” the green gem replied, standing in the middle of the bridge._

_“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Lapis asked._

_“Of course I do,” she replied, matter of factly. “I know Homeworld like the back of my hand. All I need to do is set the coordinates and we’re all good.”_

_“So what are they?” asked Amethyst._

_“What now?”_

_“The coordinates,” she repeated. “What are they?”_

_Peridot opened her mouth to relay, quite simply, what those coordinates were, being as she knew exactly where she was going, but the excitement of the moment seemed to be…clouding her memory._

_“Would you like someone to show you to the back of your hand?” Lapis asked._

_Five minutes later, Peridot had the coordinates she needed to leave, and she once again stood in the middle of the bridge. “Now,” she announced. “I’m totally ready.”_

_“Stay out of sight as best as you can,” Garnet replied. “Secure a ship and **then** try to get captured. If you see Steven…”_

_“I know what to do,” she said. “You can count on me.”_

_“You got this, Peri!”_

_“Be safe.” Both Connie and Pearl looked at each other in humor and acknowledgement._

_Peridot nodded, looking at everyone. “As your captain…”_

_“Peri,” Amethyst interrupted. “We ain’t got a lot of time so…”_

_“As you captain, I expect to see each and every single one of you, along with Steven on the ship I end up stealing!”_

_“By your leave, Captain,” Garnet said, nodding at the gem._

_Peridot gave a smart salute before being encased in the escape pod and materializing through the floor of the ship. Through the main viewer, they could see the pod race through the darkened sky and stars as it headed towards the world they would soon reach._

_Other than Connie and Amethyst, this would be a rather unexpected homecoming for the other three gems, all with the knowledge that they had not left this world on any good note. Lapis, for her, had traveled away with the good intention of just stopping on Earth for a short time._

_She hadn’t completely resolved her issues with that and perhaps she never would, but she wasn’t there to be against Homeworld and for Earth or even the other way around, she was there for Steven._

_For Garnet and Pearl, they never in their wildest imagination thought they would ever set foot on Homeworld ever again after the last time. Garnet hadn’t **technically** ever been on Homeworld herself, but Ruby and Sapphire had spent much of their lives on the planet and through some of the Diamond colonies; Ruby - as a ruby - wasn’t assigned to a particular Diamond, so she had flitted in between Blue and White’s courts, though mostly in Blue’s._

_It was a wonder she hadn’t met Sapphire earlier, however given her status, the blue gem had spent most of her time within the high spires, protected, pampered as to not aggravate the paths of fate from their true course._

_It was only the fleeting of nervousness that the fusion felt, her components reacting to the nearness of their former home, of their former roles. But luck had managed to be on their side for this long – being able to not only find a ship, but one in reasonable condition that could fly with some varied modifications – and could not be overlooked._

_There were more paths of failures than success, but that success would hinge on being successful in other paths – being able to avoid the Diamonds, having Peridot get them a ship, and finding Steven alive and unhurt – and they couldn’t afford any failures. Not this time._

_Another fifteen minutes and the white circular orb of Homeworld was in sight and it would only be a matter of time before they would be in the position to execute their part. “You do realize when we land,” Pearl began, looking at the planet below. “We’ll have to make our way to the military district, which will no doubt be surrounded by military personnel. Should we make our presence known by knocking?”_

_“No,” Garnet replied, a small smirk on her face. “We’ll let ourselves in.”_


End file.
